As is commonly known among fisherman, the technique of trolling typically involves the use of a lure which resembles a small fish or other living creature and which is pulled through the water below the surface thereof so as to simulate a swimming movement and thereby attract the attention of a larger fish which is to be caught. The lure, of course, has a hook which is intended to snag the large fish when it strikes the lure. A problem with such lures is that the lure often passes through aqueous weeds or other submerged obstructions, and the hook of the lure is snagged by the aqueous weeds or obstructions. Often it is difficult, time consuming and frustrating to disengage the submerged lure from the weed or obstruction, and sometimes the lure is so completely entangled that the force required to free it exceeds the strength of the fishing line, as a result of which the fishing line breaks and the lure is lost.
In an attempt to deal with this problem, lures have previously been designed in a manner so as to shield the hook from aqueous weeds and the like until such time as a fish strikes the lure. For example, lures of this general type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,459,819, 3,060,619, 3,410,019, 3,665,634 and 4,274,220. However, although these preexisting lures have been adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects. Often, they are relatively complex devices which are relatively expensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lure of the type described above which is relatively simple in structure and inexpensive to manufacture, yet which operates very dependably.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lure, as aforesaid, which is durable and rugged, and will have a relatively long useful lifetime with little or no maintenance.